Nearly Two-Thirds of Indian Business Travelers Are Very Confident About Data Security

ACCORDING TO research commissioned by CWT, the global travel management company, nearly two-thirds (61 percent) of business travelers from India said they feel very confident about not compromising their employer’s data safety when travelling, compared with an average of 35 percent of business travelers globally. Travelers from the Americas are significantly more confident (46 percent) than those in Asia Pacific (28 percent), or Europe (27 percent).

“These results show there is still a lot to do around educating travelers on how to look after their company’s data. For instance, connectivity in public spaces can put company data at risk,” said Andrew Jordan, CWT’s Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer. “Awareness and training are key to protecting against any possible security breaches.”

When traveling, the three situations in which respondents were most concerned about exposing company data were having their laptops or other mobile devices stolen or lost (29 percent), using public Wi-Fi (21 percent), and working on their laptop or other mobile devices (9 percent). These were followed by unintentional sharing of company documents (9 percent), accessing company emails (8 percent), opening a file or visiting a website they shouldn’t have (8 percent), and disposing of paper documents (6 percent).

To a large extent, the concerns of Indian business travelers mirrored the global findings. The top worry for Indians is having their laptops or other mobile devices stolen or lost (29 percent), followed by using public Wi-Fi (28 percent) and accessing company emails (12 percent).

These concerns are justified since 46 percent of business travelers globally – and 49 percent of road warriors from India – said they have been concerned about a security breach while online or trying to get online. And this was not the only issue: 44 percent of Indians admitted to downloading an unknown file from an unrecognized sender (vs. 37 percent of travelers globally) – and 49% said they have opened a phishing email (vs. 37 percent of travelers globally).

Fortunately, most business travelers said they took prompt action when they became aware of a security or data breach. Around a third (35 percent) of Indian respondents said they notified their company’s IT department or management upon identifying the breach (vs. 34 percent of travelers globally). A further 34 percent of Indian business travelers said they immediately shut down their device (vs. 37 percent of travelers globally). More than two-thirds (70 percent) of business travelers from India said they know how to report a phishing email appropriately – higher than the global average of 62 percent.

“These percentages can surely improve dramatically with better training on data safety,” said Jordan.

Interestingly, only 23 percent of Indians (and 17 percent of business travelers globally) said that they received frequent and formal communication and guidance about data and internet security from their company.